Touch technology inside shower cubicle?

[schnell]

Hello,

Do you know if its possible to have a touch-type panel for buttons inside a shower cubicle control panel.

....i.e. push buttons to select options like start-stop are a nuisance and keep breaking becasue people with soap in their eyes bang the buttons too hard.

--so we want to change to "touch" technology......but how do you do that when the "touch" sensitive interface is going to get sprayed with shower water?

 

[VEBill]

Perhaps something like IR leds and phototransistors behind a clear barrior.

 

[IRstuff]

What exactly do you mean by button, and what exactly do you mean by touch panel?

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[Skogsgurra]

Hey IR. What exactly do you mean with that question?

Gunnar Englund

http://www.gke.org

--------------------------------------
100 % recycled posting: Electrons, ideas, finger-tips have been used over and over again...

 

[IRstuff]

A "touch panel" in the vernacular is one with a display underneath, which is obviously not going to survive if the users are breaking "buttons." So the question is then, what kind of "button" is being broken, is it a standard mechanical pushbutton, or a membrane button, or what, exactly? What buttons have been tried?

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[MacGyverS2000]

schnell,

The questions above are relevant, but I'll answer from my own experience.

Capacitive touch panels have been around for showers/baths for quite a number of years. I've been considering installing something simple (LED display for temp and a couple of buttons for setting the temp) when I get around to remodeling the master bath. They're reliable and can be made to withstand quite abusive relationships with their owners since they don't have mechanical movements.

Some newer panels are glass touch screens with LCD or OLED displays underneath. These can be made resistant to water drops throwing them off with very little trouble (it's mostly a software issue, actually), so that is certainly an option. At my current contract a group was working on cold samples being put on a warming plate and using a touch-sensitive glass between the two to recognize when a sample was placed in the machine and where. They were having issues with water droplets throwing the whole shebang off, but before I could offer help the project was (temporarily) shelved. But it's quite possible to resolve...


Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[benta]

This is absolutely possible using IR technology. Advantage is, compared to capacitive sensors, that influence of water etc. has no influence, and you can make a nice, easy to clean glass plate as a touch panel.
A good example is here, accompanied by signal processing suggestion:

http://www.vishay.com/optical-sensors/list/product-84606/

Benta.

 

[MacGyverS2000]

benta,

Those look like standard IR sensors (I'm assuming they are)... if so, you would need one of those sensors for ever "pixel" of touch-sensitive area you wish to detect (and you can't detect from the side, you would need to detect from straight on... not ideal for the intended application unless you only wanted a few buttons).


Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[lumenharold]

I'm just a mechanical guy. There's my disclaimer...

We've done business with these guys for other reasons but they have this technology as well:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzNpVM1Mkus&NR=1

Harold
SW2010 SP3.0 OPW2010 SP1.0 Win XP Pro 2002 SP3
Dell 690, Xeon 5160 @3.00GHz, 3.25GB RAM
nVidia Quadro FX4600

http://www.lumenflow.com

 

[IRstuff]

Looks to be a good solution:

http://alsentis.com/solutions/

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[itsmoked]

Amazing how little they tell you about how it works. Essentially they tell you nothing at all.

Keith Cress
kcress -

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[benta]

McGyver, as far as I understood the OP, a few buttons is what he needs.
The sensors I pointed to are not "standard IR sensors", but emitter and sensor in a package designed to reduce crosstalk specifically for touch buttons.
However, there is a new IR touch sensor available with integrated signal processing and I2C interface, very easy to use: Vishay VCNL4000.
For some reason they are not mentioned on the Vishay website, but I can supply a datasheet if wanted.

Benta.

 

[MacGyverS2000]

The Alsentis stuff looks like your standard capacitive touch sensor... through glass and the glove is a good thickness, though.

Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[lumenharold]

My understanding is that it isn't like standard capacitive touch technology. I have had it explained to me by the engineer and by the sales guy and it went over my head both times. I'd say if it looks interesting then give them a call. I doubt there would be a thorough explanation of the technology in a three minute youtube. Maybe in the patents?

Harold
SW2010 SP3.0 OPW2010 SP1.0 Win XP Pro 2002 SP3
Dell 690, Xeon 5160 @3.00GHz, 3.25GB RAM
nVidia Quadro FX4600

http://www.lumenflow.com

 

[analogkid2digitalman]

There are also piezo electronic switches with IP69K ratings and no moving parts available.

-AK2DM

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"It's the questions that drive us"
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[StephenVB]

Atmel and a few other chip manufacturers make ICs for capacitive touch sensors that will operate through a half inch of glass (glass works better than plastic). The touch panel has to be bonded to the glass. I'm in the middle of designing an 8 key touch panel using an AT42QT1110. Atmel has proto boards. There should be lots of simple designs out there.

Stephen Van Buskirk

A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any invention in human history--with the possible exceptions of handguns and tequila.--Mitch Ratliffe, U.S. journalist, in Technology Review (Apr 1992)